Minutes of the Parish Council meeting held on Tuesday 16^th September 2014 at 7.30pm

in the Village Hall

Present

Chair:             Andrew Alexander

Councillors:   Lydia James, Paul Hodson, Michael Trolove

Clerk:              Caroline Bradley

Members of the public:     0

403.14         Chair’s Welcome

404.14         Apologies and reasons for absence

Cllr Giddens, Cllr Hayden and Cllr Howden sent apologies and reasons for their absence and these were accepted by the Parish Council (PC).

405.14         Member’s declaration of Disclosable Pecuniary Interests

None

406.14         Public and press participation session with respect to items on the agenda

None

407.14         To confirm and accept minutes of 19^th August 2014

The PC unanimously agreed these to be a true record of events. The Chair signed each page.

408.14         Matters arising from minutes (information only)

Cllr Hodson raised three issues. Clerk to minute that the PC “recommended” APPROVAL on planning applications, in future.  Clerk to minute the details of the financial movement as well as address this in the agenda.  For distinction, Clerk to separate the Great Gidding Charity Trustee meeting section of the minutes, into the two charities, Great Gidding and the Village Hall and Recreation Ground.  Clerk to action on the next agenda.

409.14         Communication from District and County Cllrs

None present.

410.14         Communication from Parish Cllrs

Cllr responsible for Trees reported that he understood that insurers recommend that an aboricultural report is actioned every 5yrs. Clerk was requested to speak to Tony King regarding the level of detail expected from a tree log and to investigate whether Yaxley Parish Council had any information that would be helpful to the PC.  Clerk to action.  Chair suggested C Cllr Bywater and D Cllr Tuplin be asked for advice on this matter at the next meeting.

Cllr responsible for Rights of Way was not in attendance.

Cllr responsible for Highways/Police/Public Transport reported that Neighbourhood Watch signs had been put up and an article placed on the website. She passed a receipt for payment to the Clerk for filing.  She also reported water issues in Gains Lane and the drainage arrangement in the ditch.  Clerk to discuss with Tony King and report back.

The Trustee responsible for Farm Business Tenancy/Grazing Land was not in attendance.

411.14         Communication from Village Hall and Recreation Ground Charity Committee (VHRGCC)

It was reported that a VHRGCC meeting had taken place and minutes would be sent to the Clerk to forward to PC.  The Village Show and the Cycle Show had also taken place.  The bank account had been set up and training with CATALYST had been booked.  An oven had been donated.  Lastly, he reported that the New Year’s Eve party had been cancelled as it clashed with another event.

412.14         Clerk’s Report

Clerk advised that she was meeting with CATALYST on Monday morning for training on the website.

Clerk informed that the deadline for applications to the Local Highways Initiative had passed.

Clerk informed that she had not managed to get a full reply regarding advertising, for revenue, on The Giddings website. A discussion was had and the PC agreed that they preferred not to allow advertising on the website.

Clerk reported that the Facebook page for Great Gidding Parish Council had been placed by Wikipedia. The PC agreed to discuss having an official Facebook page, at the next meeting.

Clerk asked the PC if they intended to place a Poppy Wreath at the church on Remembrance Sunday. Clerk requested to contact Rev Mary Jepp to ascertain the plans for this occasion.  Clerk to report back.

Clerk advised that she had made arrangements to do a walk of the village with Tony King, CCC Highways representative, on Thursday 18^th.

413.14         Completion of the annual audit

Clerk reported that the annual audit had been returned and that the external auditors had reported nothing of significance that had not already been raised by the internal auditor. Clerk to advertise the close of the audit on the noticeboard.

414.14         Finance inc:- bank reconciliation and payment of accounts

Expenditure

£298.57 – Salaries (BACS)

£75.00 – Village Show contribution (CHQ)

£120.00 – PKF Littlejohn, audit (CHQ)

£87.00 – Renewal of SLCC membership for Clerk (CHQ)

All payments were unanimously agreed by the PC and two Cllrs signed the cheques and the accompanying paperwork.

Cllr Hodson advised that he was in the process of arranging an on-line login for the Clerk.

 415.14         Correspondence received inc:-

Request from the History Society to fund the hire of the Village Hall – email.  PC agreed in principle.  Clerk to request actual costs and report back to PC.

Request of funding for new sound system for the village hall – email. After a discussion, a Cllr proposed and another seconded to offer the VHRGCC £300.00 towards the cost of the system.  Total cost, £500.00.  The motion was passed with 3 in favour and 1 against.  Clerk to contact the VHRGCC to advise.

Request for donation, Rural Cambs – email. PC agreed not to progress with this.

Cambridgeshire Community Services AGM – email. PC agreed not to progress with this.

Huntingdonshire District Council – Adult sports courses – leaflet. Clerk to ask permission to place some leaflets in local shop and pub.

Fields in Trust – Have a Field Day – email. PC agreed not to progress with this.

Deptford, defibrillators – email. PC agreed not to progress with this.

BOC Healthcare, defibrillators – email. PC agreed not to progress with this.

Parish Path Meeting – email. No-one to attend, on this occasion.

Flood forum – email. PC agreed not to progress with this.

ACRE Community Oil Buying Scheme – email. PC agreed not to progress with this.

Journal of Local Planning – email. PC agreed not to progress with this.

416.14         Planning inc:-

Application no. 1401573 TREE 23 Chapel End

Crown lifting and crown thinning of an elm.

Clerk advised that the planning application had arrived after the agenda had been communicated, however, with the deadline of 1^st October, it could not wait to be discussed at the next PC meeting.  She suggested the matter be discussed and decided now and she would add a note to all noticeboards asking the public to contact the office if they wished to discuss the application.  The notice would be up for at least 3 clear days. If no contact was made regarding the matter, the Clerk would advise Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) of the PC’s decision.  If a member of the public did wish for another discussion to be had, the Clerk would call an extraordinary planning meeting.

In principle, the PC unanimously decided to recommend APPROVAL based on the expert guidance given in the report.

417.14         Health and Safety matters                                                         

The issue of the drainage soak away at Top Farm, Main Street, was discussed. There were concerns that heavy rain would wash water onto the pavement and cause safety issues come the cold weather.  Clerk requested to write to the builders regarding the PC’s concerns and report back.

It was agreed to delay discussions regarding dog fouling and horse, use of road, signage to the next meeting.

418.14         PC Policies review

It was discussed and agreed that the PC would review one policy at every meeting until all had been reviewed. Clerk to email new, model, Financial Regulations round to Cllrs ahead of the next meeting.  Clerk to administrate recording of agreed policies and agreed review dates and to investigate whether the PC had all the policies in place, that it was recommended to.

419.14         Village Hall notice board replacement

It was discussed and agreed that a wall mounted notice board option be priced. Chair and Clerk to communicate regarding size in order to fit minutes in.  It was also decided that this notice board, only, would house the minutes and the other two notice boards would have a notice referring the public to this notice board.  Chair to price and report back to the PC.

420.14         Skip on recreation ground

It was communicated that the VHRGCC had formed a working party to

remove items on the recreation ground. It was decided that a skip was not necessary.

421.14         Request for Cllr attendance at school governing body meetings

Clerk communicated to the PC, a letter on behalf of the school governing body. The request was not granted as, “whilst it was understood that this request was a gesture of communication between both bodies, it was agreed that this (was) not an appropriate step”.  The letter ended with an invitation to attend, if it was felt by the governing body, that a topic was of particular relevance to the PC and it was suggested that the PC communicate with the governing body, vice-versa.  The Clerk also communicated that the school administrator would no longer be emailing the school newsletter to the Clerk to add school information to The Giddings website.  PC to discuss a response at the next meeting.

422.14         Office management inc:-

Revision of office filing systems – Chair communicated a need to archive/

dispose of, old information in the filing draws. Clerk reported that, whilst she was managing to achieve the day to day tasks, she felt that she did not have the time to complete this task as well.  It was agreed that the Clerk should work for a ‘one-off’ 2hrs, in addition to her 6.5 hrs, on this filing task to gauge an idea of how long the revision would take in total.  Clerk to action and report back to the PC.

Continued shared drive discussion –          Clerk communicated that she had been advised that this was not a sensible option as it leaves Cllrs exposed.  It was agreed for the system to remain as is.

Purchase of shredder for sensitive material – It was agreed for the Chair to cost 3 medium efficiency models and report back.

423.14         Staffing matters inc:-

ILCA training – Clerk reported her concerns over time to action this training whilst also completing the tasks expected of her. It was agreed to continue this discussion.

Pension scheme – Clerk advised that she had not achieved any work towards this, as yet.

424.14         Items for the CLARION

None.

425.14         Items for discussion on next agenda

No new items. Continuing discussion of those already indicated.

Great Gidding Charity Trustee meeting

 2.14             Reports from Trustees inc:-

48 Main Street boundary

A Trustee communicated that he was in possession of the Village Hall deeds which indicate measurements of the access for both the Village Hall and the Bungalow. The group discussed erecting fencing on the Village Hall boundary to prompt traffic to the Bungalow to use their own access.  A Trustee suggested fencing be erected 15ft from No. 50, as per the registered land and an adjacent fence be laid at a right angle, meeting the Village Hall side wall.  Parking would, temporarily, be available only on the old tennis court.

A full discussion was had and it was decided that this option was not appropriate at this time, however, a boundary marking should take place. It was noted that there were no personal motives from any of the Trustees, but rather, an effort to protect the village assets.

Trustee James made her apologies and requested she leave due to the late hour.

Allotments – unworked plots

Trustee not in attendance. Item to be discussed at the next meeting.

Siting of benches on recreation ground

Item to be discussed at the next Trustee meeting, following a discussion regarding this matter due to take place at the next VHRGCC meeting.

Jubilee Wood – winter maintenance

Item to be discussed at the next meeting.

Chapel End Pond – winter maintenance

Trustee reported his intentions to remove reeds etc., in an environmentally friendly way. He added that he would also be doing the same work at Towns End Pond.

New sound system for the village hall

As per PC agenda item 415.14, Clerk to officially communicate decision with the VHRGCC.

Licensing for events

It was agreed for Cllr Howden to purchase a license at £21.00.

Meeting closed at 9.35pm